Author: lbostgadmin
Farm Lending
May 28, 2012 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Treasury secretary P B Jayasundera said banks should lend more to agriculture and slammed lenders for financing too much trade and consumption activities. He said only about 3.0 percent of total credit is given to the tea sector, about 0.5 percent to fisheries. “Instead money goes to consumption […]
Sri Lanka stocks down 1.5-pct
May 28, 2012 (LBO) – Sri Lankan stock prices continued to tumble, with the main indice breaching the psychological 5,000 barrier, brokers said. On Monday, the broader All Share Price Index shed 1.49 percent or 74.66 points to close at 4,935.01m while the liquid Milanka Price Index fell 1. 86 percent or 84.57 points to […]
Cloud Computing
May 27, 2012 (LBO) – Adopting ‘cloud’ technology where computers are knitted together to process and deliver services as demand fluctuates, can help Sri Lankan business and the state to serve customers faster and more cheaply, officials said. Sri Lanka’s government is also pushing the use of information communications technology to provide services to the […]
Sri Lanka clears over 90-pct of mined area
May 25, 2012 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has cleared over 90 percent of the area where land mines believed to have been laid during a 30-year civil war which ended in 2009, the island’s finance ministry said. The finance ministry additional human and financial resources are needed to make Sri Lanka mine free by 2020. […]
Fast Growth
May 26, 2012 (LBO) – Sri Lanka DFCC Vardhana Bank’s profits in the March 2012 quarter rose 161 percent to 150 million rupees from a year earlier, helped by higher business volumes and provision reversals, interim accounts showed. The bank’s gross non-performing loan ratio grew to 4.54 percent by end March from 4.35 percent in […]
Sri Lanka to grow 7.0-pct in 2012, drought may hit growth: Treasury Secy
May 25, 2012 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s economy will expand around 7. 0 percent in 2012, but a drought can hit agricultural output which may undermine growth, Treasury Secretary P B Jayasundera said. “We think the economy will grow around 7. 0 percent,” Treasury secretary P B Jayasundera said. “Nobody should under-estimate the prevailing drought […]
UN faces funding shortfall for Sri Lanka humanitarian work
May 25, 2012 (LBO) – United Nation’s effort to raise 147 million dollars to fund humanitarian assistance in the former conflict-hit northern region this year, is facing a severe funding shortfall, official data showed Friday. The UN said 6,063 people continue to live in the Menik Farm displaced centre, three-years after security forces crushed the […]
Sri Lanka textile maker eyes acquisition, new energy sources
May 25, 2012 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Textured Jersey Plc, said it wants aquire another plant in South Asia to expand production and is looking to move away from furnace oil after a tariff increase, though operating profits increased with falling cotton prices. “Acquisition of operational facilities, which may now be available at a reasonable […]
Malaysia budget carrier Air Asia profits up 4-pct, demand strong
May 25, 2012 (LBO) – Makaysia’s AirAsia, a low cost carrier said profits for the March 2012 rose 4 percent to 167.97 million Ringgit, with revenues growing 11 percent to 1.17 billion rigging. “We have defied industry trends again by achieving a 4 percent growth in net operating profit,” chief executive Tony Fernandes said in […]
Sri Lanka state carrier adds A320 to fleet
May 25, 2012 (LBO) – State-run SriLankan Airlines said it had taken delivery of an Airbus A320 increasing the type to eight aircraft and the fleet to 21 and two floatplanes for domestic services. The airline has seven A330s and six A340s, and two De Havilland Twin Otters. The new A320 will set 20 business […]
Boat Park
May 25, 2012 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is seeking foreign investors to build its first marina on the south coast as boating enthusiasts are drawn to the island amid a post-war tourism boom, officials said. Sarath Kumara De Silva, chairman of the Cey-Nor Foundation, a state-owned boat building outfit, said a marina is planned in […]
Sri Lanka investment, structural shifts backed by World Bank
May 24, 2012 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s aims of improving investment, supporting structural shifts and improving living standards as a middle income country will be the focus of a new 4-year program, multilateral lender, the World Bank said. Sri Lanka already had ‘well articulated’ vision for development, it said. “The road ahead in achieving the […]